Police said Melhem, 29, was the gunman who killed two Israelis at a bar, then the Israeli Arab driver of a taxi who picked him up after the attack.
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Palestinian stabbing, car-ramming and shooting attacks have killed 21 Israelis and a US citizen.
Israeli troops carried out predawn detention raids in the West Bank on Sunday, arresting six young Palestinian men, the Palestinian Prisoners’ Society said in a statement.
Ezra Nawi, a Jewish radical left-wing activist who campaigns for Palestinian rights, has been secretly recorded boasting of turning Palestinian real-estate dealers who sell land to Jews over to the PA, which tortures and kills them. Some 25 Israelis have also been killed.
According to the Palestinian Health Ministry, Thursday’s deadly incident brings the total number of Palestinians shot dead by Israeli forces since October 1 to 149, including 27 minors and seven women.
Israel has employed a raft of security and punitive measures in a bid to stem attacks. In November, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to expedite house demolitions in the West Bank and east Jerusalem, which he said were “one of the most efficient tools” in discouraging Palestinian attacks.
Israeli forces have responded to demonstrations in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, the Gaza Strip and within Israel by using force, including live ammunition, rubber-coated steel bullets, tear gas and stun grenades.
“By buying my novel they reconfirm their trust and belief in Israel’s liberalism, in Israel’s freedom of choice and speech”, she said.
The compound at Gush Etzion is located south of a junction that has been scene to multiple attacks by Palestinians against civilians and soldiers over the past three and a half months.
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Since the start of the year Israel has returned the bodies of 26 Palestinians to their families.
